I don’t know about you, but between moving into my apartment and adjusting to the BlendFlex model, I feel like I’m running on the fumes of my anxiety and it is only the second week of the semester. If it wasn’t clear enough, that is not a good sign, people. Coming into this semester, my expectations were for a challenging learning experience and adjusting to the unexpected. I expected a transition period in terms of coursework and an acclimation period to coming back on campus like “syllabus week“ usually provides — especially during a pandemic. Unfortunately, that did not happen.
Since I arrived back on campus, and technically, even before I made my way back to NSU, I already felt like I was playing catch-up. Assignments started rolling in and meetings were scheduled all in the midst of me packing for my flight and figuring out what bed I was going to sleep in in my apartment.
Now, I understand the first few weeks back to campus are always crazy and I don’t want it to sound like I’m complaining from my soapbox stacked in privilege during a pandemic, but that is the reality. We are still in a pandemic. This is not our normal learning environment, so why are we treating it like nothing has happened? There are still people that have serious health conditions, anxiety , grief and depression all rooted in the events we have faced this year. I can attest to the anxiety of having family members tested for COVID-19 and recovering from a positive test result. It’s scary and I can tell you that my classwork wasn’t the first thought that crossed my mind.
I also don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that we will face spikes and a flu season that may be particularly hairy because of the resemblance of symptoms. Let’s just face the facts: we don’t have all the answers and I bet that for the next few months any cough or stuffy nose will bring on the anxiety of the unknown like never before.
My point is, with all this uncertainty in the world right now and the overwhelming cloud of anxious tension that is looming over all of us, I think we all deserve a little slack. We need to be a little more open to adjustment, to giving time to process and not rush into everything like we normally do during the semester. I don’t like the idea that I’m expected to jump through the same hoops I did last year in a moment’s notice even though with Zoom and other COVID-related accommodations, it takes double the effort. We need to face the reality that we need to lower our expectations — at least a little bit — as to what to expect from this semester. This is not going to be a well-oiled machine of Zoom lectures and socially-distanced everything. It is going to be hard and putting pressure on students to perform at peak capacity is only going to produce the opposite effect.
